Miles Apart (The Not So Bad Boys of Rock Book 2) (6 page)

“No,
and try not to say that with such contempt next time.” I rolled my eyes at him.
“I was thinking I could bring a friend, you know, introduce her to you, maybe
you two would hit it off.”

“Suit
yourself, but I won’t make any promises.”

“Okay,
well maybe I’ll see you there.” I started up the stairs, with him following closely
behind, and suddenly I was painfully aware of each swish of my hips as I
ascended the steps. We reached the top and started to part ways before he spoke
again.

“Listen,
Brooke, there’s something I think I should tell you.” I felt a tightening in my
stomach as I feared he would start sharing about his feelings for me. I wasn’t
in the mood to hear this, not now, not ever.

“Reid,
I’m kind of beat, can we talk about it some other time?” I deflected.

“I’d
rather say it now, while I have the courage. I really…” The ringing of my phone
cut him short. I held up a finger, cutting him off, and pulled the phone from
my pocket.

“Oh,
listen, this is Sebastian and I really have to take it He doesn’t have a lot of
time to talk before going on stage. I’m sorry. Can we do this another time?”
The phone rang two more times before I picked up.

“Sure,
another time.” He muttered.

“Hi
baby, it’s so good to hear your voice.” I gushed, making my way through the
door, leaving him in the hall, still holding the basket on his hip and staring
after me. A stab of guilt shot through me as I closed the door, his gaze never
leaving mine.

“Are
you home from work?” He asked. I could hear rustling in the background, and
deep breathing on the other end of the phone.

“Yeah,
I just walked in. What’s going on over there? I hear a lot of crinkling.” I
tried to imagine what he may be up to.

“Oh,
nothing much, just working on a little project. So, how was it going back to
the restaurant, did the place fall apart without you?”

“No,”
I whined. “Quite the opposite, they managed just fine without me.”

“You
sound disappointed. Isn’t the goal to get them to be self-reliant? If they were
successful that only means you’re doing a great job. Besides, Max was there to
work out the kinks. Honey, I’m sure they still need you.” He reassured.

“I
supposed you’re right,” I sighed deeply. “I guess I should look on the bright
side, this means that I can come see you more often.”

“Oh,
I like the sound of that. What do you have in mind?” His voice lowered an
octave, sending a shiver throughout my body.

“I
was thinking maybe we could go skydiving together, you know, you can teach me
how it all works and I could be fitted into one of those harness thingies that
attaches me to you.” I grinned widely, pleased with myself for coming up with
such an amazing idea, not for one minute considering how deathly afraid I was
of heights.

“Are
you serious? You would do that? That would totally rock. Let’s see, we’ll be in
Switzerland next week, think you can get away that soon? The views there are
breathtaking. We could set up a tandem jump over the Alps.”

“Wow,
that soon. Okay, I think I can get away, it would probably only be for a two-day
visit though. When are you in London? I want to be able to show you my
restaurant, and my apartment.” I found myself fantasizing about all of the
places I wanted to take him. Even though he’d been here before, and had
probably seen all of the sights, I wanted him to share them again, with me.

“We’ll
fly in early next month. I’ll only be there a few days though.” He groaned.

“Don’t
worry, we’ll figure it all out. I’m just glad that we are able to make time for
one another. I love you baby.

“Love
you too, sunshine.”

“Sunshine?
Where’d that come from?” I questioned.

“Well,
I’ve been thinking, been doing way too much of that lately I guess. Anyhow, my
world was darkness for almost a year before I met you. Then, you came into my
life and brought the light back to me. When you left, it all went dark again. I
can’t live like that, not after knowing how good the light can be. You give me
reason to go on each day. You give me hope. You are my sunshine.”

My
heart swelled, and my favorite butterfly friends picked that moment to drop by
and say hello, creating a nervous stomach and a tingling sensation in my lower region.
I’d never had anyone profess something so poetic. “That’s beautiful, but I’m
not sure I can take all the credit for that. You worked really hard to pull
yourself out of that abyss, you said so yourself.” I argued, feeling unworthy.

“Brooke,
stop, it’s you. It’s always been you. You’re my whole reason for being.”

“I
don’t know if I’m worthy of that title, Sebastian. You make me out to be some
kind of saint. I’m human and I’ve made a lot of mistakes, ones that have hurt
you. How does that fit into your reason for being?” I questioned, not wanting
to argue, but trying to grasp a love such as this. I had never known anything
like it.

“Well,
you and I both know that you’re definitely not a saint,” he snickered. “I don’t
care about the other stuff, what happened is in the past, we need to keep
moving forward. You represent everything good in my life. You bring out the
best in me, my family loves you, Gibson most assuredly misses you, and the
little things seem to mean so much more whenever you’re around.” He paused a
moment, as if collecting his thoughts. “Remember all the little gifts we used
to send each other? How excited we were to open them, never knowing what we
would find. Being with you makes me feel that way everyday, each day is another
gift I can’t wait to open.”

By
now I can’t stop the tears, they’re falling in a puddle on my shirt. I wasn’t
sure what I had ever done to deserve a love of this magnitude, or a man this
wonderful, but if I needed to I would spend the rest of my life on my knees in
gratitude for a blessing such as this.

“Wow,”
I whispered, “you really know how to make a girl speechless. I don’t know what
to say, except that I have to be the luckiest woman in the whole universe. What
you just said, I’m not sure I deserve it, but I’ll spend the rest of my life
trying to live up to it, just as long as you’re there with me. I love you more
than I’ve ever loved anyone. All of the success I’ve achieved, it doesn’t mean
anything without you.

“I’m
not going anywhere, ever again.”

“Promise?”

“I
promise.” He chuckled.

CHAPTER
SIX

Sebastian~

“Hey Sebastian!” Dek barreled through the door
of my hotel room, catching me off guard. I had been lounging on the patio, with
the music blaring, thinking of Brooke. “Dude, what on earth are you listening
to?” He groaned loudly, his face grimacing as he picked up my iPad. “Who the
hell are The Vamps? And why would you be listening them? This isn’t your kind
of music.” He grunted, tossing the device back onto the table.

“It’s
one of Brooke’s favorites, and don’t knock it, it has a really catchy tune.” I
raised an eyebrow at his mocking tone.

“When
do you see her again?” He asked, sitting back in the chair opposite me.

“This
week, she’s coming in for two days to go skydiving. She’s never been so we’re
going tandem over the Alps.”

“Do
you think that’s a wise choice for her first time? If you remember, that jump
can be a bit tricky to land. I just don’t want her first jump to freak her out,
or break her legs.” He shrugged, apologetically.

“I
think she’ll be fine, she’s tougher than she appears. It was her idea, she was
asking me all about our adventures and at first I thought it spooked her, but
then she called and offered this.”

“Maybe
its her way of trying to make up for your crappy birthday party. You know, a
peace offering of sorts.”

“Well,
whatever it is, I’m going to enjoy it. I get to jump out of a plane, experience
an amazing view, all with a gorgeous woman strapped to me. I’m not
complaining.” I smiled, smugly. “Do you and Jade have any plans to hook up
while the tour is on?”

“Not
yet, we’re still feeling our way around this relationship stuff.”

“Wait,
I thought you two were getting serious.” I questioned, throwing my hands up, as
if trying to understand. Just last month he’d made it sound as if they were a
sure thing. By the look on his face, and the tone of his voice, I was starting
to wonder if this sudden shift in their relationship hadn’t been entirely his
idea.

He
shrugged his shoulders, avoiding direct eye contact, very un-Dek-like. He was
the most confident guy I’d ever met, sure of his direction in life,
staggeringly confident with women, and never one to fall too hard.

Until
he’d met Jade…

“You
want to talk about it?” I asked, placing a reassuring hand on his slumped
shoulder. I’d never seen him like this. Defeated. Absolutely speechless. This
was the guy who could talk to anything on legs, human or animal, he just seemed
to have a way about him. Now, here he was standing before me and unable to
formulate a sentence.

Something
had definitely happened. I just had to find out what it was.

“Come
on, talk to me.” I urged, crossing my arms and tipping back to balance my chair
on two legs. “Maybe I can help.”

He
scoffed at my remark and turned away. “I doubt it, looks like all is back to
perfect in your little world. Any way, I’m not even sure how to explain what’s
going on.”

“When
did I give you the impression that everything was golden in my relationship? We
haven’t worked everything out, we’re still miles apart, and we hardly see one
another, let alone talk.” I planted the chair firmly on the ground, bending
slightly to see his face.

“Yeah,
well at least you’re on the same continent. We’ve tried talking, texting, even
Skyping, but it doesn’t seem to change the fact that I’m here and she’s all the
way over in Michigan. Even if I weren’t on tour she’d be far away.” I started
to interject, but he held up a hand to cut me off. “And don’t bother giving me
the argument that you and Brooke made it work, maybe your situation was
different. Your relationship started under different circumstances, you know,
damsel in distress and all. I didn’t get to come in and sweep Jade off her feet
and rescue her. She's a very independent woman. I'm not even sure she needs me.
Sometimes I think she just tolerates me.” He scowled, shaking his head in
frustration.

“Well,
maybe you didn’t rescue her, but that didn’t stop you from sweeping her off her
feet. Maybe you’ve just lost your touch.” I joked, poking him in the arm.

“Yeah,
well, we can’t all be Sebastian Miles now can we?” He snapped.

“Hey,
that’s not fair. Don’t make it sound as if my life has been a bed of roses.” I snarled,
suddenly feeling defensive.

“It
sure smells pretty sweet from where I’m sitting.” He quipped, smartly.

“Well,
don’t be fooled, there’ve been a hell of a lot of thorns in there too.” I
huffed, pausing a moment to collect myself. “Listen, I can understand if you
miss her, I really get it, but moaning about it won’t do you any good. Have you
told her how you feel?”

“Not
exactly,” he signed, finally relaxing his shoulders.

“Well
that’s a great place to start. Go call her.”

“But
she’s been acting weird, what if she blows it off, or doesn’t feel the same? Damn,
when did I become such a wuss? I’ve never had trouble talking to women.” I
clapped him on the back and laughed.

“I’m
afraid that’s what they call love, my friend. Welcome to the club. Oh, and if
you think you’re the only man frustrated with his woman, think again. I’m
afraid that line is one that is far longer than either of us has the patience
to stand in. Go call her.” He gave a lop-sided grin and turned, heading for the
door.

“Thanks
man, it’s good to know I’ve always got my best friend to count on. That means a
lot to me bro’.”

“I’m
always here for you.” I gave him a chin tip and pulled out my phone, deciding
to take my own advice. I swiped my finger over her name and her beautiful face
came onto my screen. I pressed send and waited for her to pick up.

However,
I wasn’t expecting to hear a strange voice on the other end.

A
male voice…

“Hello?”

Brooke~

I’d had a crazy week at work, all I wanted was
to come home, jump in the shower, and wash away all of the frustrations. A
major seafood order had arrived at the restaurant and had to be sent back,
after discovering that it had spoiled. Two of my servers had walked out during
service, leaving us short-handed, and to top it all off, my best line chef suffered
a severe burn at work and I spent four hours with him at the hospital.

I
stopped by the row of mailboxes to pick up my mail. As I turned to make my way
up the stairs I heard a voice calling my name.

"Brooke,
dear, is that you?" It was Mrs. Abbott, she was married to the building's
superintendent.

"Yes,
it's me." I called out.

"Oh,
good. I have a package for you. It was delivered this morning." When she
returned she handed me a large brown box. I struggled to add it to my
ever-growing pile.

"Thank
you." I smiled, and turned to tackle the stairs.

I
had just pushed my door open when Reid came rushing out of his apartment,
catching me off guard. He greeted me with a warm smile and began removing some
of the items from my hands, carrying them into my apartment.

“I’m
glad you’re home, I’ve been waiting for you.” I stared at him, mouth gaping
open, unable to comprehend why he would have been waiting for me. I hoped he
didn’t want to continue our interrupted conversation. He furrowed his brow,
giving me a questioning look. “You forgot, didn’t you?” Then it dawned on me.

“Ugh,
I am so sorry, I totally blanked out. It’s been a full week.” I groaned.

“Well,
all the more reason you need to come with me and unwind. Go get ready and we’ll
head over, I’m sure we haven’t missed much.” He sat on a stool, placing his
elbows on the counter.

“Oh,
I don’t know,” I stalled. “I’d need a shower.”

“So
get moving, I’ll hang out here.”

“Um,
okay I guess. I’ll try to be quick. Make yourself at home, there’s bottled
water or wine in the fridge.”

“Thanks,
now go.” He shooed me with a flip of his hand. I scurried off to my room,
grabbing a change of clothes, before making my way back to the bathroom.

The
hot water felt great on my tense shoulder muscles. I really had no business
going out, even if it was just to another apartment in the building. This was a
friendly group of tenants. Most of us were transplants so we longed for the
companionship of other misplaced souls. Most were only here short-term, but
Reid, and a few others, we here permanently, or at least until a better
opportunity came up. I was just finishing up, having turned off the water and
grabbed a towel, when I heard my phone ringing. Crap, I’d left it on the
kitchen counter. Figuring it was Garrett, calling to let me know he’d made it
home safely from the hospital, I opened the door to call to Reid, asking him to
answer it for me. Too late, he’d taken it upon himself to answer it before I
even asked.

“Who
is this?” I heard him ask. “Sebastian? Sorry man, she’s in the shower right
now.” No, I dropped my head into my hands, this wasn’t happening. This would
not go over well. I felt a lump in my throat, making it very difficult to
swallow. How was I going to explain this? “Dude, what the hell is
your
problem? Well, maybe you should be here and not clear across the country. Come
again? Whatever.” I heard my phone hit the granite countertop and my body
instinctively flinched.

I
dressed quickly, reminding myself to take deep breaths. I needed to get Reid
out of here so I could call Sebastian back, hopefully he would take my call.
There was already bad blood between these two, and they hadn’t even met. Reid
couldn’t stand him, a fact that he’d made quite obvious every time his name had
come up in a conversation. Sebastian had expressed his concern over Reid making
himself too available to me, especially in Sebastian’s absence. He’d been
uncomfortable with the knowledge that Reid was a fellow chef, assuming that we
would be drawn to one another based on our mutual love of the industry. He
hadn’t been entirely wrong on that count, but we were just friends.

“Reid,
what was that all about?” I charged at him, my jaw clenched tightly as I tried
not to bite his head off. “Who told you to answer my phone?”

“I
was just trying to help.” He smirked.

“Help?
You knew who it was before you answered. I seriously don’t think you were
trying to help. I think you were trying to stir up trouble. Why would you do
that?” I stood before him, hands on my hips, lips pursed in anger.

“Oh
come on, Brooke, the guy needed a little wake up call, don’t you think? I mean,
if you’re so important to him then why is he wasting his time on a stage when
he could be here with you, going to a party in 4D?”

“I’m
not going.” I stated, flatly. “I’d like for you to leave. I need to call him
back.” I grabbed my phone, never breaking eye contact with Reid.

“You’re
not going? I thought you were looking forward to unwinding.” He cocked his
head, looking somewhat smug. “You can’t very well do that when you’re trying to
talk to that hothead. You know, he has quite a temper.”

“I’ve
changed my mind, Reid. I’m not in the mood to spend an evening with you right
now. As far as Sebastian’s temper goes, you’d do well to stay on his good
side.” I smiled, sweetly.

“Is
that supposed to be some kind of threat or something?”

“No,
just some friendly advice. Let’s just say that Sebastian is very protective of
what’s his.”

“Oh,
so what are you, some kind of possession? Doesn’t that sound bizarre to you?”
He stared at me, arms crossed in front of him.

“No,
I’m not his possession. He loves me and he takes care of me. That’s what you do
when you love someone. I’d do the same for him. Now, please leave. I’ll talk to
you later.” I ushered him out the door and steeled myself for the battle ahead.
I hit speed dial and waited for him to answer. Instead, I got his voicemail.

“Hey,
you’ve reached Sebastian. If you’ve reached this message it's probably because
I didn’t want to talk to you. Either way, when you hear the beep you know what
to do.”

That
message was new. I couldn’t help but wonder if he’d made it especially for me.
I rolled my eyes and thought about hanging up, but quickly deduced that would
only cause more trouble.

“Hey,
it’s me. Listen, I’m really sorry about that thing with Reid, there’s a perfectly
good explanation and I’d love to share it with you. Please call me, baby. I
love you.”

I
slumped in the nearest chair and waited for him to call me back, praying that
he would. This scenario reminded me of the time I’d caught Hilary coming on to
him at the rehearsal dinner. I’d jumped to conclusions at the time but after a
few minutes I had been able to realize that there must have been a logical
explanation for what had happened, and it turned out that I’d been right, he
had been completely innocent.

Just
as I had been in this circumstance.

Hadn’t
I?